Chapter 32: Zhou Shiqing’s Career Tanks
Xuan Xia was directly stunned by the other’s response.
Say it again, what the hell are you?!
Compared to Xuan Xia’s bewildered expression, Daoist Master Qin had already seen through everything, so he had no big reaction.
On the contrary, Mister Zou saw Xuan Xia’s face full of shock and was very puzzled why this beauty had such an expression. Had he said something wrong?
Or could it be that he couldn’t say he was an “actor”? Would saying staff be okay?
Xuan Xia was dazed for a good while before she snapped out of it, then said with a serious face: “Mister Zou, please don’t joke.”
“Oh, sorry.” Mister Zou didn’t know why he was apologizing either.
Xuan Xia gave him a resentful look. “Mister Zou, your resume says you studied under the Heavenly Master Mansion?”
Daoist Master Qin wouldn’t ask the questions, so she would. She wanted to ask properly and see how this person would answer.
“Yes.” Mister Zou nodded.
Xuan Xia stared straight at him, her gaze even more resentful, and repeated the earlier question: “So are you actually a Daoist priest?”
“No.” Mister Zou stuck to his previous answer.
If the setting were appropriate, Xuan Xia would have wanted to slam the table.
“Then you studied under the Heavenly Master Mansion?!”
Mister Zou gave an “mm” and launched into a long explanation. “My first job was at the Longhu Mountain Scenic Area, and the master who brought me in was a Daoist priest from Longhu Mountain.”
So studying under the Heavenly Master Mansion was no problem.
He had just packaged it a little.
And speaking of the Longhu Mountain Daoist priest master who brought him in, Mister Zou had to emphasize one point: “This master taught me a lot, so I know everything a regular Daoist priest does. I can absolutely handle those tourists.”
He continued: “I see your work location is an ancient architectural ruins scenic area in Ningzhou. I’ve checked it out—the traffic isn’t very high. Peak times can’t compare to Longhu Mountain at all. The smallest Daoist temple I worked at, Cave Void Temple, is about the same size as your scenic area, so rest assured, I can definitely handle it.”
Mister Zou was full of confidence.
Xuan Xia, however, had the urge to kick the person out.
Unfortunately, this was an online interview, so she couldn’t kick him out physically, only boot him from the interview room.
But Xuan Xia held back and didn’t actually do it.
She endured her temper and explained patiently to this confident Mister Zou: “Mister Zou, I’m recruiting a real Daoist priest, not…” Calling him a liar wouldn’t be appropriate. Xuan Xia got stuck, unable to find the right word to describe him.
Daoist Master Qin picked up the thread for her. “Not scenic area staff.”
“Right!” Xuan Xia continued: “I made it very clear in the recruitment notice. I need a temple master who lives at the Daoist temple and handles all its affairs.”
If there was any oversight, it was that Xuan Xia hadn’t written that it needed to be a real Daoist priest with a Daoist priest certificate.
Mister Zou looked embarrassed. “Oh, I see. I saw the work location was in the scenic area and thought you needed someone experienced like me.”
Xuan Xia: No, we don’t.
Mister Zou felt a bit regretful, but soon, unwilling to give up, he recommended himself again: “I have a lot of Daoist temple work experience. Handling tourists is no problem at all. You don’t have to insist on using a real Daoist priest.”
Except for lacking the Daoist priest certificate, he was perfect in every way.
Nowadays, plenty of Daoist temples out there don’t have real Daoist priests in charge.
It’s a scenic area, after all—no need to be so strict.
Xuan Xia kept a wooden expression: “Sorry, you’re not suitable.”
“……Sigh.”
Mister Zou finally exited the interview room with regret.
The interview room was left with just Xuan Xia and Daoist Master Qin.
Starting off on the wrong foot like this, and such a mix-up at that—Xuan Xia’s mood was indescribably bad.
Daoist Master Qin, on the other hand, rarely showed a hint of amusement, but for Xuan Xia’s sake, he suppressed it and comforted her: “It’s fine. Take it slow.”
Slow my foot!
Xuan Xia had already opened the recruitment website and immediately revised the recruitment notice.
Possession of a Daoist priest certificate was listed first.
Too bad she couldn’t bold it or make the font the largest size, or she would have used everything.
After revising, she republished the recruitment information.
At this moment, Daoist Master Qin spoke again: “Your parents seem very dissatisfied that the Daoist temple’s property rights are under your name.”
They still got to this matter.
“If you need help anywhere, don’t hesitate.”
Xuan Xia closed the recruitment page and switched back to the interview room. “I’m really sorry about today.”
This apology was both for that couple and for the wasted interview effort.
“It’s fine.” Daoist Master Qin knew why she was apologizing, so he accepted it without ceremony.
His gracious acceptance of the apology instead left Xuan Xia a bit at a loss.
After a moment of silence, she had to say: “I’ve temporarily handled them. They shouldn’t come again.”
Daoist Master Qin gave an “mm.” He didn’t really mind.
“Rest assured, I’ll find a suitable temple master as soon as possible.”
Daoist Master Qin: “……Take your time. Really, no need to rush.”
“I do need to.” Xuan Xia insisted.
Daoist Master Qin: “……”
With Xuan Xia stubbornly insisting, Daoist Master Qin couldn’t say more.
The two exchanged a few more awkward words, said goodbye, and exited the interview room.
After the experience with Mister Zou, Xuan Xia received a few more resumes over the next few days, but none got interview notifications—they were all passed by her.
Because these applicants were similar to Mister Zou, ignoring her requirement for a Daoist priest certificate and thinking they were more than qualified for scenic area work.
One applicant did have a real Daoist priest certificate, but was utterly unsuitable in other ways.
Xuan Xia’s recruitment posting ran for a week with zero results.
***
“Pit-a-Pat: The Us Falling in Love in Summer” officially entered the announcement and promotional hype phase on Monday.
At ten a.m. on Monday, the program group’s official Weibo announced the first guest: young actor He Tiandong.
He Tiandong had just surged in popularity from a recently aired immortal hero ancient idol drama. Many fans of March dramas were still obsessed, and with the new program’s announcement, they flooded in to comment, like, and boost the stats.
His fans were pumped because he was the first guest officially announced.
The first guest announced—what did that mean?
It meant the face of the show!
It meant their main star had made it big!
He Tiandong’s fan support club immediately rallied the fans: “Fairies, we must give Dongdong the best showing and let the program group see our strength!”
He Tiandong’s fans were called Fairies.
While the Fairies were working hard on the showing, the gossip crowd was curious about the remaining guests.
“I heard Zhou Shiqing is in it.”
“No way. If Zhou Shiqing were in it, why not announce him first? Does He Tiandong have higher status than Zhou Shiqing?”
“I got reliable gossip from a solid source who posted the guest list. Zhou Shiqing and Xie Yun are indeed on it. Waiting for confirmation.”
“Same. We might be following the same gossiper. Her disclosures are pretty accurate.”
“He Tiandong topping Zhou Shiqing—hilarious. Zhou Shiqing really got hit by the recent negativity. Waiting for him to fade.”
“Pass it on: Zhou Shiqing faded.”
“Thanks everyone, no mentions of Zhou Shiqing. Taking him and going. Unofficial announcements don’t count.”
“Advise some people to drop their little thoughts. Don’t use He Tiandong as a weapon. We’re actors! We’re different!”
The Fairies shouted on their lips that He Tiandong was an actor and not to compare, but in their hearts, they were blooming with joy.
A thousand words summed up in one: The person we stan is red hot! Awesome!!
